The Walking Dead 1009, 1010 preview: Classic horror, surprises galore

If the first two episodes are any indication, the second half of The Walking Dead is going to be gloriously dark and scary as hell. (No spoiler preview!)

Horror reigns supreme on The Walking Dead in the second half of season 10. AMC provided the media with screeners of the first two episodes of 10B and fans need to be ready for an emotional roller coaster of non stop chills and heartstopping what-the-heck-just happened moments.

1009’s “Squeeze” and 1010’s “Stalker” will draw viewers in with their quiet intensity and leave them stunned.

Here are the vital statistics for the first two episodes of 10B:

"Episode 1009: Squeeze In the mid-season premiere, our group must figure out how to get out of a precarious situation. Written by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick Directed by: Michael Satrazemis Episode 1010: Stalker Our group must defend Alexandria from a threatening, outside force. Written by: Jim Barnes Directed by: Bronwen Hughes"

The first two episodes of The Walking Dead season 10B are particularly striking because they embrace terror in ways fans haven’t seen in a long time. The suspense is top notch, reminiscent of the season 1 creepiness that made us fall in love with the show.

Both episodes clock in at just about 45 minutes without commercials, which means much tighter storytelling. 1009 moves incredibly fast while 1010 slows the action down somewhat, but don’t let that fool you – “Stalker” is every bit as pulse-pounding as “Squeeze”, just in its own very distinctive way. If 1009 is an outright horror movie, 1010 is a spine-tingling slow burn through your worst nightmare.

What really stands out are the performances. I could name names, but every single actor delivers a stellar performance. You’ll see things in these two episodes that fans haven’t seen before, including several little moments that will leave fans saying “So that’s how they do that in the zombie apocalypse.”